Following the Halloween terror attack in New York City, CNN’s Jake Tapper is lashing out at Fox News for misrepresenting a statement he made during the course of coverage. The fuss revolves around how Tapper reported the ISIS-inspired nature of suspect Sayfullo Saipov’s actions, including how witnesses heard him shouting, “Allahu akbar” (“God is great”) after exiting his rental truck. On air, Tapper referenced how this Muslim prayer is often appropriated by extremists while carrying out terror attacks, and in doing so, he said this:
“The Arabic chant, Allahu Akbar — God is great — sometimes said under the most beautiful of circumstances, and too often we hear it being said in moments like this.”
Well, Fox News decided to call out Tapper with their “outrageous” label (in a story that’s still, at this time, available online) as evidenced in the below screencap (from CNN’s Andrew Kaczynski) with this title: “CNN’s Jake Tapper: ‘Allahu Akbar’ Can Be Said Under ‘Most Beautiful’ of Circumstances.'”
https://twitter.com/KFILE/status/925873705653297152
It’s not the most favorable way to frame Tapper’s statement, but things grew worse with a now-deleted tweet, which someone crafted to take Tapper’s words completely out of context: “@CNN ‘s Jake Tapper Says ‘Allahu Akbar’ Is ‘Beautiful’ Right After NYC Terror Attack.”
https://twitter.com/KFILE/status/925876214102921221
Needless to say, Tapper was irritated as heck over his recontextualized words and called out Fox News for “lying” and “[f]ollowing the slime-coated path of @DailyCaller and @infowars.”
Fox News is lying. I said it can be said at beautiful moments (wedding, birth) and too often at times like this (horrific terrorist attack). https://t.co/rQx3r0za6I
— Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) November 1, 2017
“Allahu Akbar” is a prayer; if we don’t understand how radical Islamic terrorists justify their evil using religion, West cannot defeat it
— Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) November 1, 2017
.@FoxNews chooses instead to deliberately lie about what I said. Following the slime-coated path of @DailyCaller and @infowars. Disgusting.
— Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) November 1, 2017
And yes, I know they do this all the time. Still, literally the day after this horrific attack that they would launch this smear — it’s sick
— Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) November 2, 2017
At that point, Fox News apparently deleted the tweet-twisted version of Tapper’s words. He did not note the deletion, but Tapper continued to trash the rival network until Sean Hannity decided to make things even messier.
I ignored the lie for a day. It started with some kid at @DailyCaller. Then to @infowars and @BreitbartNews. Now it’s on TV…where next?
— Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) November 2, 2017
There was a time when one could tell the difference between Fox and the nutjobs at Infowars. It’s getting tougher and tougher. Lies are lies https://t.co/stYjntoJUq
— Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) November 2, 2017
Saddest thing about him is he doesn’t even believe it — he’s playing his viewers for suckers. It’s all an act, as he has testified
— Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) November 2, 2017
On the air, Hannity stoked further controversy by lecturing “fake Jake Tapper” over his words and his tweets that called out Fox News. Hannity added, “Maybe that’s why you have low ratings.”
Hannity is continuing Fox's lies and smears by attacking @jaketapper for saying "Allahu Akbar" is a prayer sometimes said at "beautiful moments"
Hannity: "Maybe that's why you have low ratings" pic.twitter.com/JgsYIPU3R9
— Andrew Lawrence (@ndrew_lawrence) November 2, 2017
In response, Tapper called out Hannity for “lying now.” And then Tapper kicked Hannity right where it hurts most — right in the Seth Rich conspiracy theory.
Hannity lying now. The @FoxNews tweet I was referring to has been deleted because it was false. https://t.co/WPQtgzNGuU
— Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) November 2, 2017
Hannity, of course, smeared the late Seth Rich while his parents were still in mourning, so why wouldn't he lie about this?
— Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) November 2, 2017